Inactivation behaviors of foodborne microorganisms in multi-frequency power ultrasound-treated orange juice

This study established the inactivation kinetic parameters of some pathogenic bacteria including Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica serotypes, and Listeria monocytogenes; and spoilage yeasts namely, Debaryomyces hansenii, Clavispora lusitaniae, Torulaspora delbrueckii, Pichia fermentans, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in orange juice subjected to multi-frequency Dynashock power ultrasound treatment. All test organisms exhibited a biphasic inactivation behavior with a sigmoidal inactivation curve consisted of an initial inactivation lag, followed by logarithmic linear inactivation. Injury accumulation in the inactivation lag phase was established in acid-adapted bacteria. The time necessary to reduce initial inoculated populations by 5 log cycles (99.999%), T5D values, significantly increased with acid adaptation. The T5D of E. coli, S. enterica, and L. monocytogenes increased from 37.64, 36.87, and 34.59 respectively; to 54.72, 40.38, and 37.83 min respectively after acid exposure. Temperature increase due to sensible heat propagation during ultrasound treatment decreased the resistance of the test bacteria. The cocktail of E. coli O157:H7 had significantly greater resistance towards ultrasound treatment (T5D = 54.72 min) than any of the individual strain (T5D = 41.48–47.48 min) in the mix. Similar results were found in the composited (T5D = 60.02 min) and individual species (T5D = 20.31–59.04 min). The results established in this work provide baseline information on microbial behavior in multi-frequency ultrasound-treated orange juice for establishment of pasteurization process schedules.